The general field of the invention relates to clothes washers.
The problem of positioning a clothes washer and dryer side-by-side and thereby utilizing a relatively large floor space has been recognized for many years. More specifically, floor space is at a premium in many if not most washer/dryer installations and it is therefore desirable to reduce the required floor space. For example, the limited floor space in many apartment buildings make it impractical to have a clothes washer and dryer for each apartment.
One prior art solution such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,324,691 is to use the same tub for washing and drying thereby eliminating one of the two cabinets. Many other problems may be encountered in such a configuration because the design objectives of the two units are not totally compatible and therefore, trade-offs must be made.
Another prior art solution is to reduce the size or capacity of the washer and dryer. Although this obviously reduces the required floor space, it naturally increases the required number of wash loads and therefore has significant disadvantages associated therewith.
A commonly considered approach is to stack the washer and dryer on top of each other. Because of the torque generated in a spin cycle, it is advisable to position the washer on the bottom. In one prior art configuration, both the washer and dryer are front loading so that access to the units is conventional except for the fact that the dryer is somewhat higher than if it were resting on the floor. Access, however, does become a problem if a top loading washer is used for its well recognized advantages over a front loading washer. One top loader approach is to roll or pull the washer out horizontally. Typically, rollers or a ball bearing slide could be used. Such a configuration provides stability to absorb the spin dynamics but requires front floor clearance and somewhat complicates hose connections.
Perhaps the most commonly considered stack approach is to use a top loading washer and truncate the bottom front of the dryer to provide a notch for accessing the washer top. Generally, such a configuration has been used with washers and dryers that are less than full capacity. At a minimum, it may be necessary to use a dryer with less depth and therefore less capacity than the washer. Other significant disadvantages of the notch approach is that it is difficult if not impossible to view the inside of the tub and removal of clothes is substantially encumbered. Part of the reason for these drawbacks is that the lid can't be opened all the way because the dryer is stacked on top.